The Role of CERES in School Reform
Goals Measured by CERES.
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In response to concerns many have had about the quality of public education in preparing students for the work place, and such legislation as the “No Child Left Behind Act” of 2001, most states have introduced more rigorous, state-level standards for graduation and minimum competency testing. Unfortunately, one result is that integration of vocational guidance is often overlooked and students still may not be learning the skills at school to perform tasks that will be expected of them at work.
Career Education Responsive to Every Student (CERES) is a program that integrates vocational guidance into the school curriculum and was developed in response to community and employer concerns that too many students were completing their education without a positive orientation to the world-of-work.
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Many could not meet minimum competencies in basic reading, writing, math, listening and speaking, as well as academic thinking, problem solving, and comprehension and did not demonstrate skills related to working on teams or serving customers. CERES provides all students in grades K-12, including special education, with opportunities to acquire workplace skills. An added benefit of integrating career education throughout the curriculum, is that as students see the relevancy of their coursework to actual occupations or careers, interest in school often increases and dropout rates decline.
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CAREER EDUCATION
INFUSION LESSON PLANS
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Goal Area(s): Career Preparation
Class: English
Instructional Unit: Written and Oral Communication
Length of Lesson: 3 periods
Relate Subject Matter to Careers (1 per month)
Lesson Objectives: As a result of this lesson, students willbecome acquainted with opportunites to explore howto prepare for looking for a job, and to work through a decision-making process related to those careers.
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Students will complete the “Finding Job Openings”pretest and discuss results in class. |
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Students will complete second worksheet “Are You Ready?” in class and then results will be discussed with emphasis on differences in answers.
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“Information List” day 2, will be filled out by students in clear and concise sentences.
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Students will complete “Posttest 1” and discuss the results in class.
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CERES is based on the concept of both integration and infusion. Integration is accomplished by having a career component in every class subject. Infusion is the process by which actual career guidance lesson plans are made part of specific courses. CERES has two curriculum options for grades 7-12. One is career education curriculum for infusion which consists of both the Compendium for Career Education Infusion and the Compendium of Career Education Guidance. The infusion activities are designed to be established throughout the entire curriculum of a school, see Figure 3. The career guidance materials are lesson plans based specifically on job tasks such as resumé building, job applications, and wage computations and are designed to be used in any class with a guidance unit. The second option is Career Education Integration which contains stand alone lessons specific to subject areas such as math, English, and PE, see Figure 4.
One of the most important benefits of implementing career education in the classroom is that schoolwork becomes more meaningful, relevant, and useful and provides students with more academic motivation. When career education is integrated into the curriculum and is based upon enrichment of the subject matter, not replacement of the subject matter, a goal and direction is provided for both students and teachers. Aspects of career education that actually relate to the subject matter being studied demonstrates to students the relationship of what they are learning to the real world-of-work.
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An up-to-date report published by the Educational Testing Service points out that there is a declining opportunity for dropouts in a workplace that is requiring higher skill levels and this is an issue that needs to be addressed (ACTE, 2005). “Numerous studies have demonstrated the positive effect of Career and Technical Education (CTE) on reducing high school dropout rates, according to the National Dropout Prevention Center” as quoted in a recent magazine article (Reese, 2005). This research shows that when students have a balanced course load between academics and CTE and are made more aware of the connection of education to employment, these students are more likely to stay in school.
If CERES is successfully implemented in a school system, academic achievement should rise and students will be better prepared to directly enter the workforce or continue their education. By either integrating or infusing career education concepts and directly relating them to curriculum, students will be able to meet the goal of learning skills that help them succeed academically and occupationally.
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Figure 4.
Example of Career Education Integration Activities.Activities
for Each Course that Meet the Career Objectives Within the CERES Program
References
ACTE (2005, March 9). ETS. One third of high schools students dropping out of high school. Career Tech Update, 5 (8). Retrieved March 10, 2005, from: http//www.acteonline.org.
Reese, S. (2005). Dropout Prevention. Techniques (March, 2005).
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